Of Universities and Visits
by Elite Beauty
Summary: Being in a team called the Digidestined makes two people friends. Being in the same country, however, with a distance just five hours away and their friends on the other side of the world, might bring them even closer. AU. Pre-Apocalyptic Quest. Koumi.


**Hey everyone! Welcome to my new fic, Of Universities and Visits! **

**This takes place before Apocalyptic Quest. Mimi and Izzy are in their first year of college, so they'll be around eighteen to nineteen years old.**

**It is just setting up and explaining the friendship that Mimi and Izzy have during Apocalyptic Quest. This is a story of how their friendship came to be and their journey through holidays and through their freshman year of college.**

**I hope the characters aren't OOC, and if they are, please let me know in a review or in a PM so I can fix it! Maybe give me some tips on how to fix it? I'm very particular with how I portray the characters because when I read other fics, I don't like the characters being OOC especially Izzy and Mimi. There aren't a lot of great Koumi fics out there, so I hope you will think this is one by the time you finish reading it! I can only hope. ;)**

**It takes place in America and during different times of the year. Please read my author's note at the bottom once you're done!**

**I hope you like this fic! Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own digimon. Sigh. :(**

**Please Read and Review!**

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><p><strong>Of Universities and Visits<strong>

Izzy Izumi took in a deep breath and sighed. For once, he was nervous. There. He admitted it. He didn't like to be, but he was. His hands were sweaty and shaking and he felt like he was going to hyperventilate anytime soon. Oh no. Since when did he turn into Joe? He shook his head, trying to clear out his thoughts. He felt anxious and excited, but at the same time nervous and a bit frightened. This was all new to him. _Shake it off, Izumi. It's just a friend. It's just her. Nothing to be afraid of._ He started to wonder why in the Digital World he was here. School was going to start in a week and he hasn't even unpacked yet! He's supposed to be in Massachusetts, in a dorm close to M.I.T. That was why he was in America in the first place right? He was here, in America, so he could go to M.I.T. Great. He was starting to ramble again. But here he was, standing, staring awkwardly at the door, wondering whether or not he should knock or just turn around and go home. He needed to be prepared. Where was he again? Oh right. He was standing right outside the door to Mimi Tachikawa's apartment. Not that he minded.

He ran his hands through his red, now tame, hair for what seemed to be the umpteenth time. He honestly didn't know what to do. He's never really done this before. Okay, maybe it was just a friendly meeting, but still….Anyway, this wasn't exactly 'prodigious' as he would say. Well it was, but—what in the world was he thinking? He couldn't do this. Not in a lifetime. Sure, they exchanged their fair share of emails, calls, and texts. And sure, he had seen her via web chat, but he couldn't help but be nervous. Ah, the world hated him. He could figure out any problem in no time, whether it was math or science, but he can't face up to this one girl? This one girl who he claimed that he hated just for the fact that she loved pink and shopping, but he didn't really hate her. Not really. Oh, great. He was turning into a sap.

Izzy had his heart and mind set on going to the International University of Japan. They have the best technology there, with the one of the best engineering courses in the world. After all, it was the best university in Japan. He dreamed of being able to attend that school for so long. Once he got the acceptance letter, he immediately became ecstatic. He didn't want to go anywhere else. He figured that he would still see his friends and even make new friends there. But as soon as Sora started telling everyone that Mimi was going to New York University, he changed schools. He also got an acceptance letter into M.I.T., but he disregarded it, saying that IUJ was the school for him. When he heard about Mimi however, he decided to go to M.I.T., calmly claiming that America did have better living standards and M.I.T. was a school for the techno geeks after all, as the name, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, implied.

Although that was the reason he claimed for switching, a little part of his brain, and Tai, he mentally added, insisted that he was going there to be closer to a certain brunette, honey-haired digidestined. He persistently denied it, but as he was standing there, he couldn't help but bring himself to admit it. He knew that college was Mimi's probably only last chance to return to Japan. And he knew that if Mimi picked to go to a college in America, it would be the place where she chose to stay. So he packed up his bags and headed for America.

The two did grow closer over the years via text, calling, email, and video chat. So when he called and told her that he would be attending M.I.T., which was only roughly around four to five hours away from NYU, she was ecstatic. She insisted that he come to New York before going to Massachusetts to visit. He politely declined, but being the stubborn girl—now woman she always is, she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Which is why he was standing here, looking like an idiot, for what Izzy decided to be for the first time in his life. He groaned and accidentally banged his head against the door a few times. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize he just knocked on the door or that the doorknob was being turned. His head was resting on the door when he felt it being moved away from him. He almost fell, but thankfully he caught himself. He looked up to see a gorgeous, brunette, honey-haired, caramel eyed digidestined. He froze. She grinned at him.

"Hey Izzy! You're finally here! Come on in!" Mimi greeted, ushering him in the door.

He laughed and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in. "Thanks Mimi. Hi, um, how are you?" _Smooth Izumi._

"Great! What about you? Oh, and sorry for the mess. I just moved in here a couple of weeks ago and everything's not quite in place yet," Mimi explained.

He shook his head. "It's fine. And I'm good myself," He added, before chuckling nervously. _Great, you look like a bumbling fool! Pull yourself together._

It was then that he took a look at her apartment, that he realized how big it actually was. The living room was huge. It had two white, plush leather couches, a big flat screen plasma TV, and a gigantic stereo system. Outside the living room, he could see a nice, perfect view of New York City. _Mimi always wants the best_, he supposed.

"How do you like it?" Mimi asked him.

Izzy took another look around and walked into the kitchen. The kitchen looked like something that a chef would own. There was a glass elevator in one of the corners (though he didn't know what it was used for), not in the kitchen of course, and there was another glass elevator on the other side of the apartment, probably allowing Mimi to get in, he assumed. All in all, even though he hadn't seen the rest of it yet, her apartment—no penthouse looked awesome. He just stared (and maybe even drooled) at everything in awe.

"It's huge! Prodigious!" Izzy answered, using his favorite word.

Mimi chuckled. "I'm glad you like it."

"Yeah. It's very….pink," Izzy remarked, smirking. He noticed she painted the walls pink. She also had pink curtains.

"Well, what did you expect? The whole thing to be black?" Mimi teased.

"No, it's just….it's so pink!" Izzy laughed. He looked up at her and noticed that she got even more beautiful, if that was even possible.

Mimi was wearing a pink blouse with a white skirt. She had on white fashionable boots. Her brunette, honey hair was straightened, flowing down to the middle of her back. She looked gorgeous and beautiful as always.

Izzy looked down at what he was wearing. He had on a grey button-down shirt with black pants. He wore black dress shoes to match. His hair was tamed and he put some gel on it, making it a little spiky. He didn't think he looked all that good, compared to Mimi.

"So, you must be starving!" Mimi stated. "How was your flight?"

Izzy shrugged. "It was okay. It was long though, and I'm pretty sure I now have jet lag." He joked.

Mimi laughed. "Yeah. You see, that's what I have to go through every time one of you guys call me and say 'Hey, we have a problem. Come. It's an emergency about digimon.' or 'Hey, there's a digimon issue over here. It's urgent.' Now you know what I go through every time that happens."

"I'm sorry. But it would be nice if you were there, you know, having a little more support," Izzy replied.

Mimi nodded and glanced at him. She disagreed with what Izzy thought, however. She thought he looked nice, more handsome. His spiky hair just screamed adorable at her, she admitted. He had indeed grown up. He was taller and leaner. As she thought about it, she noticed that he was about a few inches taller than her. When did that happen? Last time she checked, she was a head taller than he was. She then spoke.

"Well, come on! The food's getting cold."

They sat down at the table and ate in silence for the first few minutes. Then, they started to reminisce on the memories they had in the Digital World.

"This is really good food, Mimi. I didn't know you could cook this good, or at all," Izzy complemented, and then teased.

Mimi glared at him playfully. "I'm a very good cook if I do say so myself."

Izzy chuckled. "Yeah, you are."

Meanwhile, Izzy was glad that she hadn't changed. She still was sincere and honest, speaking out her opinion to everyone. Mimi still loved shopping and fashion, which was a given, and she still cared about others. He was happy for that. She cared what he thought and it was easy to fall back into their friendship again with her because of that. She was kind and forgiving, like she always was. Even though they grew up and had changed into adults, he was glad that her personality had stayed the same: bubbling and carefree, being happy and effervescent.

For the rest of the night, the two spent their time reestablishing their friendship and watched movies together, although they fought for awhile on which movie to watch. Then they went sight-seeing around New York. Mimi took him to see places like Rockefeller Center and Central Park. Unfortunately, Izzy had to leave for M.I.T. a few days later. He still had to go check the place out and unpack his things in his dorm.

Mimi sighed wistfully as they started to walk towards his car. "Well, it was nice seeing you again."

"You too," Izzy replied, giving her a smile.

"It's not the end, you know. We'll still be seeing each other around, right? I mean Massachusetts isn't that far of a drive from here," Mimi told him.

Izzy nodded. "It's four to five hours away actually."

Mimi rolled her eyes. He could be such a dork sometimes. Then she smiled. "You better visit. Or I'm coming down to get you."

"Okay, sure. I'll be sure to visit then. Or you know, maybe not," Izzy teased.

Mimi smacked him playfully on the arm. "Let's keep in touch." She demanded. "You have my number and e-mail and I have yours. If you don't visit Izumi, I promise that I will come and track you down myself."

"Have fun with that," Izzy laughed.

Mimi just responded with a smile as they reached his car. He put his suitcase in the trunk and then proceeded to the front of the car where the driver's seat was. He then turned to Mimi.

"Take care of yourself," Izzy stated while he spread his arms out to envelop Mimi in a hug.

She hugged back. "You too, computer geek. I bet you're not even going to get enough sleep because you're always typing away on that computer of yours. Please do me a favor and allow yourself to sleep."

"I will," Izzy replied chuckling. He then got in the driver's seat and put in his keys to start the car. He then rolled down the window to be able to talk to her. "I'll see you around."

Mimi grinned, putting her arms where the window had rolled down. "You bet you will. You're not escaping from my grasp that easily." She joked.

She then continued, more seriously. "Have a safe drive alright? And get some sleep and eat food okay? Don't let yourself starve. Make new friends. Call me once in awhile. Just take care of yourself."

Izzy nodded. "Don't worry, I will. And expect a call from me once I get there. You take care of yourself too. Don't party for nights on end and don't drink too much," He teased.

"I don't!" Mimi defended. "Have a fun time in nerdville, Izzy. I'll miss you. See you later."

Izzy gave her a big smile. "Ditto." When he saw Mimi's hard glare he added, "I'll miss you too Mimi. See you."

Mimi smiled softly at him as he rolled up his window and waved goodbye to her. She waved back. He then proceeded to pull out of the parking lot, and drove away. She smiled to herself and thought one thing. _That geek better visit._

* * *

><p>It was Halloween. Izzy looked at all the orange and black lights surrounding the buildings and the trees in New York City. <em>Yeah. New York's the city that never sleeps.<em> He thought. Izzy called Mimi, telling her he was going to be coming up here so she should be expecting him. Although he didn't think he would come this late. He expected to be here yesterday, but he had to make up a test and do some last-minute things for school that he wasn't able to leave Massachusetts until this morning. He groaned at the pain his neck had since he had been sitting in a car all morning. Now it was nighttime and the children of New York were probably getting ready to go Trick-or-Treating, he assumed.

As he walked up to Mimi's penthouse, he reviewed what he was wearing as a costume. He decided on something simple and something worn often, a Batman costume. He was going to go as a scientist but seeing as Mimi would probably make fun of him or disapprove, he settled on buying the costume and going as Batman. He wondered what she dressed up as or if she even got a costume. He assumed she was probably a princess or Wonder Woman, or something related to that. However, he did not expect to see what greeted him when her door opened.

"Aaaaah!" Izzy yelled, terrified at what he saw the door reveal. He then took the doorknob and closed the door again. The door swung open again and it was still there.

"Who are you and what have you done to Mimi?" Izzy shouted, alarmed, ready to punch the lights out of this guy.

The figure held up its hands in response. "Calm down!" A feminine voice inside of it said, although there was heavy breathing accompanied with the voice so he couldn't really tell if it was a female. Then when he finally allowed himself to analyze his surroundings, he realized it was Darth Vader, but instead of the usual black it should have been wearing, he saw that Darth Vader was wearing the same thing, but in pink. He paused for a moment. Darth Vader doesn't wear pink. He rolled his eyes when he connected two and two and calmed down when his brain processed the fact.

"Whoa Izzy! Calm down. It's me, Mimi!" The Darth Vader spoke, explaining.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that out," Izzy replied, taking another look at Mimi. But it couldn't have been Mimi. Mimi should've been dressed in something more….princessy.

"Why aren't you dressed like a princess or a female?" Izzy inquired, as this was not Mimi's style. What had he missed in the last few years?

Mimi gave, he thought, a disgruntled groan and pulled him into the apartment. Then she—Darth Vader—placed her—his—hands on her hips.

"Are you being sexist, Izzy?" It asked. Yep, he was going to just refer it to an it now.

He took off his Batman mask and rolled his eyes. "No! Of course not. It's just I didn't expect you….well I didn't think you would….," He started trying to explain hopelessly, but failed.

"What is it? Spit it out?" Mimi—Darth Vader, breathed out, aggravated.

"….Be dressed like that!" He finished, waving his hands up and down at her outfit.

"I wanted to be Darth Vader. And I liked the color pink so….," She explained, gesturing with her hands to the whole pink Darth Vader outfit.

The room was silent for a moment, well except for her heavy breathing. The mask did make her sound a whole lot like Darth Vader. She didn't sound like the high-pitched, beautiful, wait what? High pitched, feminine voice she had. Izzy shook his head. It just wasn't right.

"You, mister, were not very creative," She pointed out.

"At least I didn't come as the scientist I was thinking of coming as," Izzy muttered, hoping she hadn't heard what he said.

"You were thinking of coming as a scientist! That's more disturbing!" She—it gasped.

"Not as disturbing as that!" Izzy told her, pointing to her costume.

He assumed she was frowning, well, he couldn't really tell because of the mask, but the mask was always frowning….Anyway, he assumed she was frowning until she gave another shake of her head.

"Whatever. At least its Batman and not a stupid scientist," She breathed.

"Scientists are not stupid!" Izzy retorted.

She smirked. Well, he could feel her smirk. He was pretty sure she was smirking. Back to the point….

"Darth Vader does not wear pink!" Izzy told her, trying to emphasize his point that her costume was wrong in so many ways.

"I prefer to be called Pinkth Vader," She announced.

He nodded his head until his mind had registered what she had said. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me," It—she stated. "I'm Pinkth Vader."

"But why at the –th at the end?" Izzy questioned.

"Because Darth has a Dar- and a –th. So instead of Pink, it's Pinkth," Mimi simply answered, staring at him through the mask with a how-is-that-not-obvious look on her face.

Izzy sighed. She was pretty smart when she wanted to be, but her logic was sometimes weird. "Okay then."

"What?" Mimi demanded, wanting to know what was possibly wrong with her costume.

He rolled his eyes. "Let's just go to this party you were raving about."

* * *

><p>It was a fairly cold, chilly day in Massachusetts. Winter was quickly approaching. The temperature all around the east coast dropped a significant amount of degrees. Mimi saw her cold breath as she huffed out a breath of air. She was thankful that it hadn't started to snow yet; otherwise driving here would take twice as long.<p>

Mimi parked her car in the parking lot of an apartment building. The apartment building was newly built, she noted, as the appearance of it looked new. Besides, Izzy told her he bought an apartment in a newly built building, so it should be new. She got out of her car and walked inside and noticed that the lobby was pretty nice. She sniffed a bit. It smelled nice too, she decided. Mimi went in the elevator and pushed the button that would lead to his floor. As soon as the doors opened, she walked towards his apartment. She then knocked on his door.

Izzy opened the door and smiled. "Hey Mimi! Please, come in."

Mimi grinned at him and looked around his apartment. She frowned. She knew he just bought it, but nothing had been unpacked yet. Many boxes were stacked up on top of each other in what she guessed was the living room. Everything looked as if he had just bought it yesterday. There was only one room that she saw out of the corner of her eye that had some things unpacked. She assumed it was the study since his belongings that were occupying the room were: his laptop, a computer, a chair, multiple CDs and DVDs, and a bunch of cables. She rolled her eyes. Of course, the only things he would be unpacking are his geeky things.

"Izzy….when exactly did you move in here?"

"Roughly about two weeks ago. Why?" He asked, curious as to why she was asking this in the first place.

She gave him a stern look. "Where have you been sleeping?"

"On my bed. Where else?" Izzy replied, giving her a strange look.

She strode towards his bedroom and found that he had only his bed and a few clothes lying around here and there. Everything else in the room was plain. No pictures, no painted walls, no curtains, not even a TV. His clothes weren't even hung in his closet yet. She shook her head.

Izzy walked in behind her, and was confused about her behavior, but shook it off. "I ordered a turkey for the Thanksgiving dinner. Are you sure you want to spend it here with me? I mean, what about your parents? Don't they want to spend Thanksgiving with you?"

_He always was, and still is concerned about others rather than about himself._ Mimi thought. But sometimes he had to think about himself for once. Like right now, for instance.

"Of course they do and I do. But I told them that I would be spending it with you since you have, like, no one here with you," Mimi answered.

Izzy looked offended. "I have friends!"

"Oh come on. I'm glad I came anyway. You haven't even unpacked the majority of your things and I bet the time that could be spent unpacking, you've spent on your laptop. And of course you have friends, but you probably would have spent Thanksgiving alone, typing away on that computer of yours. Face it Izzy. You're lonely and you're a mess! I care about you and I'm not letting you live like this. So, we're going to start our Thanksgiving by unpacking your things."

Izzy glared at her, but was somewhat touched that she cared. He didn't know she cared this much. "I'm not a mess." He said, giving a retort back anyway.

"What do you eat?" Mimi asked him.

"Take out," He replied. "Or pizza. I drink just coffee at times. Sometimes I eat even microwave dinners."

"That's unhealthy. I'm cooking," Mimi told him.

"But I already ordered turkey!" Izzy protested.

"It doesn't matter. You need real food for once, not those stupid microwave dinners or take out. Sometimes, those are disgusting," Mimi answered, noting that the latter was better than the former.

Izzy sighed to himself. Oh well. If anyone can keep him in line he figured, it would be Mimi. So, all he could do now was agree. "Okay. Where do we start?"

"Start with unpacking those boxes while I cook. Then we're going out and buying some paint and furniture so it looks like you live in an actual apartment. We're going to sort out all of your belongings and place them in their proper places. After that, we're going to the grocery store to buy some decent food that you can cook. I'll teach you," Mimi ordered him.

He looked unsure, a little wary of the situation. "You're going to be here a week?"

"If it takes more time to get this place into shape, I'll be staying a little longer then," She declared proudly.

He had to laugh at her endearing antics. She sure knew how to keep him in line. He then realized that he didn't know what he would do without her, as cheesy and as crappy as that sounded.

"Well? What are you doing there standing like an idiot? We've got work to do! Move it, move it!" Mimi directed, giving him another stern look and then returning to resume her cooking.

Their Thanksgiving wasn't the traditional one that most people have, but it's something. They spent it together and Izzy was thankful that she had come. Otherwise he still would be living like that and he wouldn't know what he would do with himself. If she hadn't come, he would still be eating pizza almost every night and….well, he wouldn't have any furniture. He was glad that she came and whipped him into shape. From this experience, he came to only one conclusion. That, among many other things, was something to be thankful for.

* * *

><p>"<em>Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way! Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh! Hey!" <em>The Christmas Carolers of New York started to sing.

Izzy grumbled under his breath as he heard them. He didn't hate Christmas, oh no, he hated the weather that went along with it. It was at this time that he was reconsidering going back and taking his place at IUJ, since it was so much warmer there. He hated cold weather. It was pretty depressing and it made his fingers and toes numb. He had been in New York for at least a week now, since it was Christmas Break, but it didn't matter where he was. In Massachusetts, it was the same exact thing. It was always cold, cold, cold, and cold. He was now wondering why he chose to go to M.I.T. in the first place. IUJ seemed so much better and warmer right now.

Since Izzy was cold, his attire consisted of many clothes to go with the freezing weather. He was wearing a black pea coat and a grey scarf. Inside that, he wore a black, casual jacket with a blue button down shirt and a black and white striped tie. He had on black and blue Nike shoes to go along with it. Dang it! It was so cold. His teeth chattered and he tried to groan as snow started falling down. Again. In Japan, it never snowed this much. Sometimes it never even snowed. He trudged up the stairs to Mimi's penthouse. He didn't feel like taking the elevator today. He didn't know why. He assumed walking more could heat him up, make him warmer.

He took out the spare key and unlocked the door. Mimi had given it to him so he could come in whenever he wanted after sightseeing. Unfortunately, she had some culinary arts tests to still take, so she wasn't quite done with school until a few days ago. He came in and instantly smiled at the smell of food she was cooking. She really was a great cook; there was no doubt about that. Almost as good as his mother, he decided. He shook the snow out of his hair, hung up his coat and walked into the kitchen.

Mimi looked up at the sound and gave him a grin. He gave Mimi a glance and saw what she was wearing. She wore a cute, petite, black jacket with a pink shirt underneath. She wore jeans and brown Ugg boots to match. "What's up Izzy?" She then noticed he had a small frown on his face. "What's wrong?"

"It's so cold!" Izzy whined. It wasn't like he wanted to, it's just he held in his whining so long and he figured now would be a good time to use it and let it out. He plopped down on the couch with a frown on his face.

"Well, what did you expect? It is New York. It's always cold here in the east coast during winter. In fact, it's colder here than anywhere else in America," Mimi replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Izzy glared at her. It was his first winter here in America, so he decided that she should have some sympathy for him. He then looked away from her and turned on the TV. He spoke. "I'm not the one that's been living here for awhile!"

Mimi rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be such a crybaby. You're acting like Joe."

"When's the food going to be done?" Izzy demanded.

Mimi blinked and glared at him, even though he wasn't paying attention or looking at her. "You have to be patient! It's not done yet. Besides, even if it was done, we still can't eat it because it is Christmas Eve, and we have to go to my parents' house to spend Christmas with them. Isn't that what we agreed on?"

"Can't we eat just a little?" Izzy turned around and looked at her with pleading eyes.

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"No! Wait—Dang it!" Mimi called out, frustrated with herself. Why had she fallen for that? It was the oldest trick in whatever stupid book that had invented it!

Izzy smirked and then turned around to pay attention to the TV. After a moment of silence, he spoke again. "So….we can eat it now right?"

Mimi growled and chucked a spoon at him. He yelped and ducked. Izzy sighed in relief when he saw that it wasn't a knife. Mimi smiled in satisfaction. Then she rolled her eyes. She did forget how impatient Izzy can be in not-so-perfect weather. Oh well. He would just have to wait. And for that argument, she would make him wait longer.

A little bit later, they arrived at Mimi's parents' house. Izzy was somewhat nervous because it was the first time that he had seen her parents in a long time.

_Ding! Dong!_

The Tachikawa door opened and revealed a pretty woman that looked a lot like Mimi. Coming in right behind her was her husband, Mimi's father, in glasses and he looked pretty good. Then again, all the Tachikawas did, Izzy supposed. It was like in their nature to look good.

"Hello Mimi! Hello Izzy!" Mrs. Tachikawa greeted as she let them in.

"Hi Mama!" Mimi greeted her with a hug and kissed her on the cheek. She then went over and to her father and did the same. "Hi Papa!"

"Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa. Oh, and Merry Christmas!" Izzy spoke, greeting them politely.

"Izzy, my boy! Good to see you!" Mr. Tachikawa said, smiling. "It's been years."

"Yes, it has!" Mrs. Tachikawa squealed. She was a lot like Mimi. "You've certainly grown into a handsome young man! Right Mimi?"

Mimi felt her cheeks color as she stammered. "S-Sure! Y-Yeah, he, um, has." She then turned away and went to set the food she cooked on the dinner table.

Dinner went surprisingly well for the four of them. They talked about college many times. Mr. and Mrs. Tachikawa asked both Izzy and Mimi how they were each doing at M.I.T. and NYU respectively. Mimi told them about the great culinary arts course that she's taking and said that there will be some trips scheduled to Europe for it. Izzy managed to explain to them politely about the computer engineering course without sounding like too much of a nerd. If he started to babble on about it, they wouldn't understand, therefore causing awkwardness and confusion at the table. _Thankfully, he avoided that._ Mimi thought, giggling to herself.

After a few hours of talking and playing games, Mimi's parents decided to go to bed, saying that they were done and tired for the day. They wanted to get up early to be able to open up some presents in the morning. Izzy interestingly didn't find it hard to fit in with them. He was thankful for that. Izzy and Mimi then spent the next few hours playing video games, watching movies, and just talking which was nice. They ate some more food and had fun. Mimi talked to Izzy about fashion and shopping while Izzy tried to explain to Mimi about the complexity of computers. They did argue quite a bit while doing that though. It was nearly midnight when Izzy noticed that Mimi had stood up and had gone to go to the balcony. He walked over to his coat and took out a small gift he had purchased for her, nothing special. He went to go stand by her side in the utterly freezing weather.

"You know what I just noticed," Izzy teased tactfully. "You didn't go to a party tonight or even mentioned one. Have you gotten sick of parties?" He asked in mock horror.

Mimi shoved him a little and laughed. "No. I just wanted to spend Christmas with you." Izzy smiled a little.

When she realized what she had just said, she stammered and added, "A-And my family, o-of course."

Izzy nodded, pursing his lips. He then pulled out his gift for her. It was in a simple rectangle box, neatly wrapped with pink and purple wrapping paper. He nudged her to get her attention and held it out, giving it to her.

"You didn't have to….," Mimi trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"We're friends. And I wanted to. It's the least I could do ever since all you've done for me is been a friend. Plus, you did help me with my apartment," He chuckled, recalling the memory.

Mimi laughed. "Very funny. Okay." She took the box and tore apart the wrapping paper. Inside was a jewelry case, she knew that, but what intrigued her was what was inside it….

She opened the case and inside laid a breathtaking white gold necklace and in green, not pink, spelled out the word 'Sincerity'.

"Oh, Izzy….," Mimi said, starting to choke up. She didn't want to, but tears welled in her eyes. The gift was beyond beautiful. It reminded her of the Digital World and most importantly, Palmon.

"Thank you," Mimi finished, thanking him. She enveloped him in a hug and a few tears came down her face. She quickly wiped them away with her right hand, while her left hand was holding the gift.

Neither really didn't want to let go and end the hug, but they thought it was a good time to pull away, so they did. Mimi grinned at him.

"It's a perfect gift."

Izzy blushed and looked down at the ground, not knowing what to say for once. "Your welcome."

Mimi then smirked mischievously. "Can you put it on for me, please?"

Izzy nodded and took the necklace from her hands, putting it around her neck and clasping it together. She turned around and it did look good on her, thankfully.

Mimi's eyes widened as if she had just remembered something. "Oh yeah! I have my gift for you too!"

Izzy shook his head. "Mimi, you didn't have to."

Mimi started rambling. "But you and I both know I had to. You got me a gift, so isn't it fair that I get you yours?"

Before Izzy could open his mouth to protest, Mimi hurried in the house and got her gift. She came back out with a soft smile on her face.

"Here you go. Merry Christmas. I remember you saying you wanted one of these, so….," She trailed off, giving him the present.

Izzy opened it to see the newest version of the pineapple laptop with the new apps and updates. It was actually one of the most advanced laptops out right now. The color of the laptop was orange. He couldn't believe his eyes. Sure, he had another advanced computer that his parents gave him as a university gift back at his apartment, but with this at least it was portable and he could take it anywhere with him. He turned to Mimi and smiled.

"Thanks Meems."

"You are very welcome," Mimi grinned. "You like it?"

Izzy nodded enthusiastically. Mimi clapped her hands.

"Yeah, well I love my gift. So thank you Izzy. This means a lot to me," Mimi told him. Then a minute of silence followed. Mimi then leant over and kissed Izzy on his cheek. After she pulled away, his hand went up to the spot where she kissed him. No one spoke for another minute or two. They thought that this was nice, spending time together and being alone with each other. For once, they didn't have to worry about anything, like the Digital World or school. They just had to be themselves. Then Mimi made a move to speak.

"But you know Izzy….," Mimi started to speak.

"Hmm?" Izzy wondered, still loving the bliss and tranquility of the moment.

"There's a New Years' party that we absolutely have to go to!" She squealed.

Izzy face palmed. _Oh joy. _He thought sarcastically. _Something else to look forward to._

* * *

><p>Izzy covered his ears when he heard the blaring sound of music pump out from the stereo system. The music was so loud. Everywhere, college students partied like they haven't partied before. Most were already so wasted; he wondered how they could still stand upright. There were couples in corners of the room going for it, not caring if anyone saw them or not. He thought it was just disgusting. He rolled his eyes and tried to focus on the work he was doing on his laptop. His computer was the one thing that mattered to him at this moment.<p>

Izzy rarely ever drank, but when he did, he usually could get as crazy as Tai or Matt and he didn't want that to happen. In fact, he never wanted a repeat of what happened at Matt's party years ago. All it took was just one cup of beer or whatever that thing was. Whatever it was, it sure was spiked. Anyway, it didn't take a whole lot of alcohol to make him start seeing things. He was suddenly spurting out random facts and giggling all the time. At least, that was what Sora told him. Sora decided not to get drunk that night, and she told him that she would be overseeing things, making sure everyone was still safe. Izzy, apparently, according to Sora, started singing karaoke and then went crazy on the video games. She also told him that he started spurting out random insults at random people. Izzy tried to shake it off after, but people were still pretty pissed at him for the insults he shot at them. Apparently, the insults were pretty harsh to be able to make the others so mad. He also did some pretty embarrassing things that he would rather not mention. So, he vowed, or tried to at least, not drink again. Plus, he wasn't a big fan of the terrible hangover he had the day after. It was horrible, to say the least.

So instead, at this New Years' party that Mimi had forced him to go to; he took his laptop so he could work on some homework instead of partying it out like most of the people were doing. The others were just passed out anywhere; on the couch, on the floor, on the tables, on the bed, you name it, they were on it. He decided the best thing to do would be to stay focused on his work and look out for Mimi in case she got herself in some trouble. He hoped that wasn't the case. At least he could still see Mimi dancing on the dance floor, drunk and wasted. He panicked a bit an hour before when he couldn't find Mimi anywhere, but when he did, he just found that she was in the backyard of this person's house, in a hula hooping contest.

The strangest thing he found out about Mimi tonight was she actually was a little smarter than she usually was, telling people off and throwing insults at them. He realized she could be a flirty and angry drunk at the same time. She was flirting with him and a few other boys before, but then she turned around and got angry at some of the girls. Mimi was a very weird drunk, he noticed. She wasn't like Tai, who desperately tried to hook up with any girl that came his way and who started to sing terribly to no end. She wasn't like Matt, who was a happy drunk, spilling out his thoughts (which he rarely did) and who always had a grin going from ear to ear. She wasn't like Sora, who giggled all the time at what anyone else said or cried (it was quite strange actually). When Sora got drunk she would sometimes randomly burst out into tears. Of course, Mimi wasn't like him, the mean, insulting, crazy, whacky drunk (according to his friends). As for Joe, he never knew what kind of a drunk Joe was. But on the other hand, he didn't want to take the time to find out. Mimi was a little bit of all of them, especially when she started to get totally wasted. She was calm, angry, happy, mean, and sometimes she would just burst into tears without any warning. Her brain was somewhat sharper, so he knew she could take care of herself when it came to any perverts coming her way. But still, he kept an eye out for her just in case. He didn't want her to get hurt in any way whatsoever.

Izzy sighed in frustration. He didn't even want to be here. He barely knew anyone, except for Mimi. Izzy knew that they wouldn't be going back to her penthouse until the early morning hours. He shook his head and continued to work, until something—or someone broke him out of his thoughts.

"Hey nerd!" This big, tall, burly man greeted with a grin too big for his face.

Izzy glanced at him and raised his eyebrows. "Um, hi."

"What the heck are you doing working man? This is a party! Here, drink up!" The dude (yeah, Izzy was just going to call him that) suggested, holding out a cup filled with who knows what. It looked like liquid at least. Purplish liquid. Izzy shook his head. There was no way in the Digital World he was going to drink that.

"Uh, no thanks," Izzy said politely and then went back to typing on his laptop.

"Aw come on! You're being a stick in the mud! This is awesome stuff!" The dude told him.

He nodded. "Probably is, but you know, I'm not in the mood for that 'stuff' right now," Izzy replied, declining, trying to at least act civil and polite.

The dude rolled his eyes and drank up. He then faced Izzy again. "So, nerd, what are you doing? Why are you working? Who even brings a laptop to a party? Don't tell me you're working on homework, because that's stupid, dude." He finished his array of questions after another five minutes, clearly intoxicated.

Now usually, Izzy would just ignore the guy, like he does with everyone. But with the blaring music and the weird sounds and him being all worn out, he found it hard to. That's why he chose to reply to the dude.

"Because I'm a nerd," Izzy said, finally settling on that because he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Oh yeah. Ha-ha. I forgot. Hey, do you like rainbow ponies?" The dude questioned, instantly curious.

Izzy gave the 'dude' a strange look and then tried to focus on his work again.

The dude slapped Izzy on the back. "Stop working, man!"

He shook his head. "I'd rather work thanks."

"Are you defying me?" The dude asked him, outraged.

How in the world did he even know of the word defying? Izzy wondered. He couldn't because, well no offense to him, but he doesn't look all that smart and he's intoxicated so much that Izzy could actually smell the alcohol coming off of him. Izzy didn't even think he knew the word existed. Izzy was intrigued that he still even knew how to make coherent sentences with his wasted brain. Ah well, it doesn't matter. Who really cares?

"I don't want to," Izzy answered, talking very slowly, so the dude could understand him.

The 'dude' apparently got angry. He cracked his knuckles and was about to get violent when a familiar female stepped in between them.

"Whoa! Ryan, come on! Don't be like that! Izzy's a totally cool, awesome friend," Mimi came in, incredibly high off of the alcohol.

"He's a nerd!" Ryan protested, glaring at Mimi.

She giggled. "Yeah, but he's my nerd." Izzy shot her a look that said 'what-in-the-world-are-you-talking-about?

She seemed to notice her mistake and corrected herself. "Well, he's my friend, nerd, buddy….thing." She giggled. "He looks like a cartoon character!"

_What?_ Was Izzy's one thought. He shook his head. Yeah, it was time to go home, he decided.

"Anyway, you're a big, strong man, right Ryan? So go, have fun my servant!" Mimi announced, suddenly imagining she was in a palace and he was her servant. "Bring me food from my peasants!"

_Okay, she's lost it._ Izzy thought to himself. "Mimi, we—"

"Ah!" Mimi interrupted him, cutting him off. "And what are you doing, mister? Why the heck are you freaking working? It's a freaking party for Pete's sake!" Mimi yelled, suddenly getting very angry. She took a plastic cup and threw it at him.

Thankfully, he dodged it and he hoped that it was empty, for whomever it landed on. "Okay, Meems. Let's go. You're done and wasted."

She stood her ground, shaking her head stubbornly. "But I don't wanna go!" She whined. "It's—it's al-almost New Y-Years Izzy! W-we cannot, and I repeat," She paused, catching her breath. "I, wait, what was I saying?"

Izzy sighed inwardly. "Something about New Years."

Mimi thought for a moment then giggled. "Oh yeah!" She remembered. "I repeat, we cannot...cannot….ha-ha that's such a funny word." She stuttered drunkenly then started laughing hysterically.

Cannot? Izzy didn't think it was so funny. "Spit it out!"

"Miss the countdown thingy to the New Year! Yeah! Are we Chinese?" Mimi suddenly asked, confused.

"What? I—no, we're Japanese," Izzy replied, correcting her.

"Oh yeah. Too bad. I wanted to cele….celebrate the Chinese New Year!" Mimi yelled out and everyone that heard her agreed, pumping their fists in the air.

"You're cute when you're confused," Mimi stated, her face looking very serious.

"Um, thanks I guess," Izzy remarked. This was not going well and she definitely will have such a bad hangover tomorrow.

"You know," Mimi started, putting her arm around him. "I never got to….got to tell you how handsome you h-have g-gotten."

Izzy glanced at her, putting his arm around her waist so she wouldn't fall. He definitely wanted to hear this.

"A-and you know, ever since you like, you like, came back!" She started laughing hysterically again. "I've been like having these—these f-feelings for y-you."

_What feelings?_ Izzy wondered, thinking to himself. Did she actually mean these things or was she just so drunk that she thought she was saying it to the person she actually did have feelings for?

"It's for you, and only," She giggled. "O-only y-you, Izumi!" She was about to continue when she heard everybody counting down.

"Ooooohh yay!" She clapped her hands, giddy. "And five….four….three….two….one! Happy New Year!" She screamed. Mimi kissed Izzy on the cheek and hugged him so tightly. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "I like you, a lot. Maybe, possibly more than you could ever know." Mimi got on a table and started dancing in victory, like she just won the lottery or as if she met a big celebrity or something.

Mimi then continued while she was dancing, "You're awesome Izumi! Yay!" She giggled.

But Izzy wasn't paying attention. His mind didn't care anymore of going back to the penthouse. He only had thoughts of her (and his laptop, of course, but he was too shocked to think about that). Did she really mean all that? He fully intended on asking her later when she was sober. He wondered if she fell for some other guy and thought that guy was him. He somewhat hoped that it was really for him, but another part of his genius brain was telling him that they should and would only be friends. At this point, he really didn't know what to do. He suddenly found himself wondering if he also drank tonight. Either that happened or he got drunk just by the smell of alcohol in the air.

* * *

><p>Mimi grimaced as she dragged her bags across the lobby and into the elevator. She was starting to regret bringing four suitcases. She shrugged it off. After all, a girl's got to have some glamour in her life to be fabulous, right? Right. She smiled to herself and took out her makeup bag to freshen up. She grinned at her choice of wardrobe she wore today. She found it on sale at the mall a while ago. She wore a short, blue stylish dress with the hem ending just above her knees. She wore silver, Gucci heels to match. Her long hair was arranged in a neat, but also messy bun. She frowned when she thought of the drive here. The drive was incredibly long, unlike usual. She took one last glance at herself in her mirror and then walked out of the elevator, bringing her usually heavy suitcases with her. She straightened out her hair and knocked on his door.<p>

He was frowning when he opened the door, but when he saw her, he smiled. "Hey Mimi! Come on in!"

She gave him one of her breathtaking, heart-wrenching smiles and walked in the apartment. She remembered that she had four large suitcases and some carry-on bags with her. "Oh and by the way….could you be a dear and bring those in for me? Thanks!"

He rolled his eyes and went to go get her things. While he was doing that, she noted that the apartment looked way nicer from when she was here last, during Thanksgiving. The walls were painted with a nice, beige color. He had nice, simple curtains of a dark brown, chocolate color. Black, leather couches were seated in the living room in front of a huge, plasma TV that he had also managed to turn into a high-tech computer, courtesy of his parents. The kitchen was nice and clean with decent food actually filling the refrigerator. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the study which was oddly clean, with the exception of a few papers lying around. Mimi also took a glance at his bedroom. His bed was neatly made and his clothes were neatly folded and hung in his closet. He had a computer and a laptop in his study and another computer in his room. She started to wonder how many computers he owned aside from those, the one she gave him for Christmas, and the one his parents gave him that was sitting in the living room, acting also as a TV. She rolled her eyes and sighed. He would still be the computer geek pipsqueak, no matter what she did to his apartment or the amount of time she spent with him. She paused to think for a moment what would happen if she didn't come. _The apartment would still be bare without any furniture or decorations or decent food. He would be living in a boring, boring apartment._ She assumed.

Izzy then walked in, carrying the last of her bags. She noticed he left his red hair down without any gel, but complemented him silently on keeping it short, tame, and neat. It was way better than the hairstyle he used to wear back then. She shuddered but smiled. At least his fashion is way better though she gave herself a pat on the back because she did rearrange his closet a bit. He was wearing a purple button down shirt leaving it untucked over his grey jeans. He had purple, black, and white Nike shoes to finish off the look. It reminded her of his crest which was the crest of knowledge, whose color was purple. The color suits him. He did look adorably cute and incredibly handsome. _I bet many girls are falling for him…._She thought, but she shook her head to get rid of it, just leaving the thought hanging, trailing off. She didn't notice she was staring at him until he cleared his throat.

Her gaze drifted towards his face. Was she just checking him out? She hoped not. She bit her lip in anticipation, waiting to see what he had to say.

"You look incredibly tired," Izzy laughed.

Mimi huffed in frustration. "What do you think? I just drove like six to seven hours here just to spend time with you. You should show some more gratitude."

Izzy smiled and took her in for a hug. Her glare softened as she breathed in his scent. He smelled nice, not a horrible smell. He smelled like what a guy should smell like if that made any sense. At least he didn't smell like computers. He smelled like….soap, she decided. Wait, why was she thinking about how he smelled?

They both realized that the hug was a bit longer than it should've been and pulled away from each other.

Izzy cracked a grin and held in his laugh. Mimi glared at him in annoyance. "What?"

"It's a four to five hour drive here, Mimi. Stop exaggerating," He replied, laughing.

She pouted but his laugh was somewhat contagious, so she started to laugh along with him at something that wasn't even supposed to be remotely funny.

Izzy stopped laughing and sighed inwardly. He never got to know whether or not she meant what she had said at the New Years' Party because the next day, she didn't remember a thing. So instead of bringing it up and telling her what happened, he stayed silent. He didn't know what would happen if he actually did tell her. Another reason why he didn't bring it up was because he didn't want to risk the friendship that they had.

"So, are we just going to stand here, dork?" Mimi teased. "Or are we actually going to do something fun?"

He smiled. "Let's go, then."

They had fun over the week, visiting parks and museums and going to the movies, with the occasional shopping at the mall. Now, they were just lying on a blanket in the park, looking up at the starry night sky.

"Beautiful night," Mimi murmured, seeing the stars mapped up above her.

Izzy didn't want to say anything because it would be too cliché. But he couldn't help himself as he turned his attention away from the stars and directed it towards her. He gulped as he observed her, who was gazing peacefully up at the sky. What the heck? He'll just say it anyway.

"Sure is," He replied, though he was looking and talking more about her than he ever would about the stars. He chastised himself for how cliché that sounded. But whatever, it was true.

She laughed a bit; it was quite ironic of how they got closer over the year. She turned to glance at him while he went back to paying attention to the stars. She sighed, wondering how they grew up so fast. He wasn't the short, stubby computer geek she once knew. In fact, he was now a man, ready to stand his own ground, intellectually and socially. He was different from all the other guys she knew and dated. They were always thinking of themselves and wanted her to do things for them. He on the other hand, wondered what he could do for her and tried to help her in any way possible. He cared about her feelings even though sometimes it seemed like he was ignoring her for his laptop. He put everything else over the needs of himself. She wondered if he could stand it to really be that selfless. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his polite voice.

"Thank you," He breathed.

She positioned herself up sideways, so that she could look him in the eye. "For what?"

"For being here, being my friend, and staying with me no matter how geeky I may be," He laughed, slightly joking, but also being serious.

"Your welcome. Thank you too, you know," She added. "For being here, for being my friend too."

"Anytime," Izzy replied. He got this look on his face that he always got when he was about to get technical or explain something complicated. Uh oh.

"Constellations aren't just a figment of imagination," He started to explain, wanting to piss her off and confuse her at the same time. "They're made of a bunch of numerous stars. Stars don't come out of thin air, however. They form inside of a nebula, which then combusts to—."

"Don't even think about it," She warned, interrupting him. "If you start to bore me to death here, I'll leave."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "You'd just come back anyway."

She frowned, knowing he was looking for an argument. "No I won't."

"Yes, you will."

"Nuh-uh." She teased, sticking her tongue out playfully at him.

"Uh-huh."

"Nu-huh."

"Uh-huh."

"Nu-huh."

"Uh-huh."

Mischievous flickered in Izzy's eyes as he started to laugh. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm always here for you, you know." She told him. She knew that he knew, but she just wanted him to know.

"I know," He replied simply. "So am I."

And it went like that. The two would drive on some weekends to see and visit each other. Both of them knew that during all this, they had grown to be closer, maybe to the point where they were now best friends, like T.K. and Kari or Tai and Sora. They considered the other to be their best friend and each were glad. The two had complemented each other's similarities and differences in good ways. She taught him how to loosen up and dress more nicely and fashionably while he taught her to be more serious and more studious. It was a give and take relationship. He suddenly was glad he chose to go to M.I.T. and she was glad that he chose to. What would happen next, after this? Both were thinking about the future, but they decided to just live in the moment and focus on right now.

Mimi felt a smirk come upon her face. She sat up, causing Izzy to sit up as well. This had been a fun year, she decided. One thought entered her mind. She knew what to do next. He wondered what she was thinking and was about to ask when she spoke.

"Hey Izzy?"

"Hmm?" He responded lazily while at the same time wondering what thought had entered her fun-filled brain. When he saw the playfulness dance in her eyes and the smirk on her face, he took it back. He groaned when he realized what she was about to say. She grinned.

"Help me carry my bags? Want to go shopping?"

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! I hope that was good. Oh, and sorry if I offended any Chinese people or cartoon characters, because I really didn't mean to. I just thought it might be funny if Mimi said that while she was drunk. Sorry! Anyway, personally, I don't think it's good because I did rush on it...Could you guys please give me some feedback on how I did?<strong>

**I hope Izzy didn't sound too lovey-dovey or stupid...I also hope Mimi didn't sound too bossy or well, out of her character...**

**1.) How was it? Hated it? Loved it? Was it too choppy, too cliche? Too fluffy or too boring? I'd like to know! Haha :)**

**2.) Were the characters OOC or not?**

**3.) Would you like me to make this into a series of Koumi one-shots instead? Because like the Halloween and the Thanksgiving one, I didn't elaborate on the scenes. If you would like me to please let me know!**

**4.) How was my grammar?**

**5.) If you have any ideas or challenges you would like me to write, feel free to PM me!**

**I know that's a lot, sorry! I just wanted to know how I did, I hope it wasn't too terrible! I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading! Please review! :)**


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